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PERMAFROST MONITORING IN THE HUDSON BAY LOWLANDS: PRELIMINARY RESULTS FROM THE ONTARIO FAR NORTH

November 2017

DOI:10.13140/RG.2.2.28994.43205

Conference: 45th Annual Yellowknife Geoscience Forum, Northwest Territories Geological Survey, Yellowknife, Canada

Authors:

Maara S. Packalen

Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry

Zlatka Pironkova

Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry

Pascale Roy-Léveillée

Laurentian University

Recommended Citation: Irwin, D., Gervais, S.D., and Terlaky, V. (compilers). 2017. 45th Annual Yellowknife Geoscience Forum Abstracts; Northwest Territories Geological Survey, Yellowknife, NT. YKGSF Abstracts Volume 2017.

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Project

Climate change and peatland functions

Developing climate change vulnerability assessments for peatlands in northern Ontario

Project

Greenhouse Gas Production in the Hudson Bay Lowlands

Project

The Ontario Far North Land Cover Project implemented by IMA Section of theOntario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forstry, Peterborough, Canada

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Earth Science Outreach: A Move in the Right Direction

May 2009

There is concern within the Geoscience Community about the public's limited understanding of Earth Science and its fundamental contribution to society. Earth Science plays only a minor role in public school education in Ontario leaving many students to stumble upon this field of study in post-secondary institutions. As the Earth Sciences offer relevant advice for political decisions and provide ... [Show full abstract] excellent career opportunities, outreach is an increasingly important component of our work. Recruitment of post-secondary students after they have chosen their discipline cannot remain the sole opportunity. Outreach must be directed to potential students at an early stage of their education. High school teachers are influential, directing students towards professional careers. Therefore we are first committed to reach these teachers. We provide professional development, resources and continued support, building an enthusiastic community of educators. Specific initiatives include: a three day workshop supported by a grant from EdGEO introducing earth science exercises and local field destinations; a resource kit with minerals, rocks, fossils, mineral identification tools and manuals; a CD with prepared classroom exercises; and in-class demonstrations and field trip guiding on request. Maintaining a growing network with teachers has proven highly effective. Direct public school student engagement is also given priority. We inspire students through interaction with researchers and graduate students, hand-on exercises, and by providing opportunities to visit our department and work with our collections. Successful projects include our week-long course "School of Rock" for the Enrichment Mini-Course Program, classroom visits and presentations on the exciting and rewarding career paths in geology during Carleton University open houses. Outreach to the general public allows us to educate the wider community about the Geoheritage of our region, and initiate discussions about science and global issues such as climate science and stewardship of our natural resources. A new initiative for Science and Technology Week, 'Explore Geoheritage Day' introduced the public to the geological history of the National Capital Region. We have found collaborations with other agencies very effective. We work with PDAC's "Mining Matters", LTS, the Ottawa Gatineau Geoheritage Project, Ottawa Heritage, STAO, local school boards, naturalist groups, and other community organizations to promote Earth Science education. Our efforts over the last 5 years have brought tangible results in: a) a considerable increase in student enrolment at the university level in our department; b) increased teaching of the Grade 12 Earth and Space Sciences course at local high schools through teachers who were inspired by our workshops; c) a flourishing network of enthusiastic earth science educators sharing ideas with us to define each other's needs; and d) a growing interaction with the general public. Future initiatives need to consider lobbying for curriculum changes to give Earth Science a prominent place in the public education system. As well, only few university education departments currently allow Earth Science graduates into their programs, requiring them to first take additional courses in other "teachable" subjects. This must change. University graduates with an Earth Science degree and an interest in teaching must be permitted direct entry into these programs so that their skills will be passed on to the next generation of science students.

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Why Study Geoscience? Identifying Effective Recruitment and Retention Strategies for an Undergraduat...

December 2005

McMaster University is a `research intensive' university with 17,000+ full time undergraduate students. The School of Geography and Earth Sciences (SGES) is located within the Faculty of Science, offers B.Sc., B.A., M.Sc., M.A. and PhD degree programs and teaches more than 70 undergraduate courses on an annual basis. The Honours B.Sc program in Earth and Environmental Sciences (EES) graduates ... [Show full abstract] approximately 25 students per year. Students enroll in undergraduate SGES programs in their second year, after completion of an introductory first year in the Faculty of Science in which they take compulsory science courses including math, physics, chemistry, and biology. First year students, as well as those in upper years, may also elect to take one or more of three introductory courses offered by SGES (Earth & the Environment, The Living Environment, Atmosphere & Hydrosphere) to complete their science requirements. Most students entering the Faculty of Science know little about geoscience as it does not form an important part of the Ontario secondary school curriculum. Hence, recruitment into the EES program is primarily via the first year courses. In order to establish reasons why students elected to take the introductory courses offered by SGES, and their reasons for considering subsequent entry to the B.Sc program, a survey of students taking one of the courses was conducted in the fall of 2003. Results from the survey indicate that students enroll in the course, and subsequently the EES program, for a variety of reasons including: general interest in how the planet works, concern for the environment, interesting title of the course and reputation of the instructor. Student concern over lack of potential jobs is cited as the main reason for not pursuing a degree in geoscience. This survey has helped to direct the multifaceted recruitment strategies used by SGES to continue to develop its undergraduate program through delivery of high quality first year courses. Additional recruitment strategies used to recruit and retain high quality students include an active undergraduate society and departmental events that contribute towards a culture of learning and sense of belonging that is sought by students.

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Earth History databases and visualization - the TimeScale Creator system

April 2010

The "TimeScale Creator" team (www.tscreator.org) and the Subcommission on Stratigraphic Information (stratigraphy.science.purdue.edu) of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (www.stratigraphy.org) has worked with numerous geoscientists and geological surveys to prepare reference datasets for global and regional stratigraphy. All events are currently calibrated to Geologic Time Scale 2004 ... [Show full abstract] (Gradstein et al., 2004, Cambridge Univ. Press) and Concise Geologic Time Scale (Ogg et al., 2008, Cambridge Univ. Press); but the array of intercalibrations enable dynamic adjustment to future numerical age scales and interpolation methods. The main "global" database contains over 25,000 events/zones from paleontology, geomagnetics, sea-level and sequence stratigraphy, igneous provinces, bolide impacts, plus several stable isotope curves and image sets. Several regional datasets are provided in conjunction with geological surveys, with numerical ages interpolated using a similar flexible inter-calibration procedure. For example, a joint program with Geoscience Australia has compiled an extensive Australian regional biostratigraphy and a full array of basin lithologic columns with each formation linked to public lexicons of all Proterozoic through Phanerozoic basins - nearly 500 columns of over 9,000 data lines plus hot-curser links to oil-gas reference wells. Other datapacks include New Zealand biostratigraphy and basin transects (ca. 200 columns), Russian biostratigraphy, British Isles regional stratigraphy, Gulf of Mexico biostratigraphy and lithostratigraphy, high-resolution Neogene stable isotope curves and ice-core data, human cultural episodes, and Circum-Arctic stratigraphy sets. The growing library of datasets is designed for viewing and chart-making in the free "TimeScale Creator" JAVA package. This visualization system produces a screen display of the user-selected time-span and the selected columns of geologic time scale information. The user can change the vertical-scale, column widths, fonts, colors, titles, ordering, range chart options and many other features. Mouse-activated pop-ups provide additional information on columns and events; including links to external Internet sites. The graphics can be saved as SVG (scalable vector graphics) or PDF files for direct import into Adobe Illustrator or other common drafting software. Users can load additional regional datapacks, and create and upload their own datasets. The "Pro" version has additional dataset-creation tools, output options and the ability to edit and re-save merged datasets. The databases and visualization package are envisioned as a convenient reference tool, chart-production assistant, and a window into the geologic history of our planet.

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GPS orbit monitoring and data analysis in Canada

December 1991 · Advances in Space Research

The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) and the Canada Centre for Surveying (CCS) are collaborating in a pilot project to operationally test a prototype Active Control System (ACS). Computer controlled TI4100 GPS receivers have been set up at the Algonquin Radio Observatory (ARO), Ont., the Pacific Geoscience Centre (PGC), B.C. and the Yellowknife Seismological Station (YSS), NWT to collect GPS ... [Show full abstract] pseudorange and phase observations for satellites in common view and ground meteorological data. The operations are fully automated including regular daily data communications to processing facilities in Ottawa. The daily ARO-PGC baseline solutions based on broadcast orbits from December 1989 to June 1990 show an RMS repeatability of 0.7 - 1.1-m corresponding to 0.3 ppm of the baseline length whereas RMS corrections to short arc orbits (positioned and oriented according to broadcast orbits) range from 5 to 51 m. The Selective Availability (SA) errors observed had the character of a second order Gauss-Markov process with σ corresponding to about 0.1 m/s in range rate and correlation time of only 4.3 minutes.* * Geological Survey of Canada Contribution Number GSC27190.

Conference Paper

Computer-aided data management and analysis at Ohio Division of Geological Survey

September 1987

Larry Wickstrom

The Ohio Division of Geological Survey has been actively working toward computerization of selected records and processes for the past 2 years. Much of this work has been accomplished under sponsorship by the Gas Research Institute. Currently, hardware includes a network of microcomputers, VAX minicomputers, and an Intergraph Corporation graphics workstation. Records that are in the process of ... [Show full abstract] being entered into computer data bases include: production, geologic, and permit data for all Devonian shale wells; records of all wells reaching the Mount Simon Sandstone or deeper; selected geochemical brine analyses; and mineral-industry statistics. As these projects are completed and additional computer equipment becomes available, the scope of the geologic data bases will grow. Processes that now utilize computers include: word processing and publication preparation, data-base management, statistical analyses, base-map digitization, and interactive geologic map production. As more and more state, federal and local agencies and private individuals and companies enter into the use of computers, the Ohio Division of Geological Survey intends to continue to supply services in a usable format.